Tennis serve training device

ABSTRACT

A tennis skill training device having a grip emulating a tennis racquet grip sized to be held by a user when employing the device for training. The grip has a length and circumference, a butt end and a distal end. The device further includes a flexible umbilical having first and second ends, the first end being attached to and emanating from the distal end of the grip and a weight attached to the second end of the umbilical, the length of the device being measured from its butt end of the pip to the weight being approximately the length of a tennis racquet. The device is particularly suitable for carrying out a method of training a user to properly serve a tennis ball.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is directed to a tennis skill training device andmethod of using the device particularly to train a user to properlyserve a tennis ball to commence a game of tennis. The device isinexpensive to construct yet highly effective in developing theappropriate server stroke.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Tennis training aides are well known in many forms. Despite the plethoraof such devices, there has not been, to date, a device having particularutility and effectiveness fox training one to properly serve a tennisball to commence a service game in a match or for practice purposes

It is well recognized that the single most important aspect of themechanics of a tennis serve is that the hitting arm should be fullyextended to the “power point” of impact of ball and racket. A continuousupward and forward motion to point of contact maximizes efficiency,power and control in a natural manner. Although one might think thatthis would be a relatively simple matter to master many, if not most,novice tennis players find this to be quite difficult. Stateddifferently, it is critical for an appropriate service stroke that theracquet meets the ball at full extension.

One way some players make themselves reach up for the ball is by keepingthe entire arm straight throughout the swing. This “windmill serve” putsa tremendous strain on one's shoulder and could result in shoulderdamage. In addition, it is important that one bends one's elbow inpreparation for striking the ball. The proper mechanics of the servingswing depends upon throwing the lower half of the arm upward from adeeply bent elbow to a straight one. With a loose wrist, this causes allof the energy coming from one's legs, torso and arm to be translatedinto whipping the racquet upward and forward at the ball. If one swingswith a straight arm, the racquet speed is limited by how fast the armcan rotate around one's shoulder joint. If one bends one's arm whilekeeping one's wrist loose, the whipping effect generates far greaterracquet hit speeds.

As noted above, there has not been, to date, an effective device toencourage propel service motion.

It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a device fortraining a user to develop the appropriate mechanics for properlyserving a tennis ball.

It is yet a thither object of the present invention to provide atraining tool to enable one to develop the proper mechanics for serviceof a tennis ball which is inexpensive to construct, simple and intuitiveto use and which is devoid of undue complexity.

These and further objects will be more readily apparent when consideringthe following disclosure and appended claims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A tennis skill training device having a grip emulating a tennis racquetgrip sized to be held by a user when employing the device for training.The grip has a length and circumference, a butt end and a distal end.The device further includes a flexible umbilical having first and secondends, the first end being attached to and emanating from the distal endof the grip and a weight attached to the second end of the umbilical,the length of the device being measured from its butt end of the grip tothe weight being approximately the length of a tennis racquet. Thedevice is particularly suitable for carrying out a method of training auser to properly serve a tennis ball.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a front plan view of the device of the present invention.

FIGS. 2-4 are side and front plan views of a grip useful in practicingthe present invention.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the butt piece of the grip of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Novel features which are characteristic of the invention, as toorganization and method of operation, together with further objects andadvantages thereof will be better understood from the followingdescription considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way ofexample. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawingsare for illustration description only and are not intended asdefinitions of the limits of the invention. The various features ofnovelty which characterize the invention are recited with particularityin the claims.

There has been broadly outlined more important features of the inventionin the summary above and in order that the detailed description whichfollows may be better understood, and in order that the presentcontribution to the art may be appreciated. There are, of course,additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafterand which will form additional subject matter of the claims appendedhereto. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conceptionupon which this disclosure is based readily may be utilized as a basisfor the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carryingout the several purposes of the present invention. It is importanttherefore, that claims be regarded as including such equivalentconstructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope ofthe present invention.

Certain terminology and the derivations thereof may be used in thefollowing description for convenience and reference only, and will notbe limiting. For example, words such as “upward,” “downward,” “left,”and “right” refer to directions in the drawings to which reference ismade unless otherwise stated. Similar words such as “inward” and“outward” refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, thegeometric center of a device or area and designated parts thereof.Reference in the singular tense include the plural and vice versa,unless otherwise noted.

It is recognized that in the game of tennis, the serve is the mostcomplex and individual stroke. An efficient and powerful service motionis basically a throwing motion. The present invention, as noted,involves the use of a flexible umbilical connecting a weighted end to agrip which represents the flexibility of the serving arm while allowing,or more appropriately, forcing the “links” of the shoulder, elbow, wristand hand to perform in a natural manner in creating maximum speed of theracquet head. The weighted end of the device appended to the umbilicalallows the training device of the present invention to create theappropriate motion for a user. It will virtually automatically create a“whip like” motion to carry the weight to full and powerful extension ofa service motion.

The flexible umbilical acts as a training device because it allowsunlimited and three dimensional motion, unlike a straight bar orracquet. A tennis service motion is a multi-dimensional movementinvolving multiple joints with varying planes of movement. The shoulderis a ball in socket joint that allows the greatest range of motion inthe body through a movement pattern called circumduction. The elbow is ahinge joint that allows movement through only one plane. The radio-ulnarand carpal-radius joints allow long axis rotation, and finally thewrist, a diathrodial joint allows movement in two planes, flexion andextension as well as lateral deviation. Combined, these joints mustallow force transferred from the ground, through the torso and racquetto create what is known as a spiral diagonal movement which is common tooverhead sports motions. A rigid device would not allow theneuromuscular movement patterns, aka “muscle memory” to be developed asit would act as a straight linkage between the ball and the body,whereas the flexible nature of the total serve more accurately mimicsthe multiple, moving joints in the upper extremity.

Because the majority of tennis players, and people in general don'tnaturally have a good “throwing motion,” it becomes necessary to use apractice aid or device to train the body to “throw” properly and tocorrect “throwing” mechanics therefore creating a better service motion.The present invention stimulates an average tennis racquet in length andweight. It is weighted more heavily in the “head” and is attached to aflexible cord so that when going through a throwing or serving motion,the heavy end takes the user through the motion naturally by buildingmomentum through the simulated stroke. Thus, the weight at the end ofthe umbilical tends to cause or develop the appropriate service motion.Conversely, if the grip is not held properly and the motion is notcorrect, the player cannot complete correct form. To facilitate this, aswill be more readily developed below, the grip of the present device, asa preferred embodiment, has raised markers to suggest proper handplacement. If not properly used, one will not be able to keep thepresent device moving from start to finish in a fluid motion maintainingtautness of the umbilical.

In turning to FIG. 1, a first embodiment of the present invention isdepicted. Specifically, tennis skill training device 10 is provided withgrip 1 emulating a tennis racquet grip sized for being held by a userwhen employing the device for training. The grip has a length 15 and anoval circumference best visualized in FIG. 5 showing butt cap 9, thecircumference having eight flat beveled surfaces 12, again, foremulating the feel of a somewhat standard tennis racquet grip.

Grip 1 has a butt end 11 and distal end 13, the butt end generallyfinished with expanded cap 9 (FIG. 5). Flexible umbilical 2 has firstend 14 attached to and emanating from distal end 13 of grip 1 whileweight 3, generally from 13 to 15 ozs., is attached to second end 15 ofumbilical 2 to complete the device. The weight can be made of the samematerial used for the umbilical and grip.

Although the device of the present invention, as depicted in FIG. 1,shows umbilical 2 bent in a serpentine fashion, when straightened, thetotal length of the device measured from butt end 11 of grip 1 to thefurtherest most end of weight 3 is ideally sized to emulate the lengthof an average tennis racquet which is approximately 26″ to 28″ Theumbilical, as a preferred embodiment, is not only flexible, but iscapable of stretching approximately 1″ from its at rest length as weight3 pulls upon umbilical 2 during use of the present device. Suitablematerials for use as the umbilical, grip and weight include a memberselected from the group consisting of natural rubber, synthetic rubberand thermoplastic elastomers.

Although weight 3 is shown as three consecutively aligned weighted ballsattached to umbilical 2 as shown, the present invention can use a singleweighted orb or a plethora of such while remaining within the spirit andscope of the present invention. Ideally, weight 3 should cumulatively beapproximately eight ounces to create the appropriate “head weight”sought herein.

In turning to FIGS. 2-4, grip 6 is shown. FIG. 3 shows the back side ofgrip 6 while FIGS. 2 and 4 show opposite sides of the grip in order toprovide the appropriate illustration of raised markers 4 and 8.Specifically, raised marker 4 is intended to create a V or U-shapedseries of segments establishing notch 21. When grip 6 is appropriatelyheld by a user, notch 21 would nest in that portion of the user's handbetween one's thumb and index finger. Raised marker 4 is intended to beused by a left handed player and its use is indicated by the letter “L”indicated as element 5.

Conversely, grip 6 can also be used by a right handed player byemploying raised marker 8. Use of this marker is indicated by the letter“R” identified as element 7 thereof. To complete the device, butt end 11of the grip includes expanded or butt cap 9 to prevent the grip fromslipping out of a user's hand.

The present device, when employed properly, will encourage a user toengage in a service stroke with the user's arm fully extended upward.Failure to do so will prevent umbilical 2 from remaining taut throughoutthe motion resulting in an uncontrolled movement of weight 3. Thisresults in a clear indicator to a user that the stroke has not beencarried out properly. A user would continue to employ the present devicerepeatedly until the stroke was properly executed as indicated by thetautness and slight stretching of umbilical 2 and thus the controlledarc of swing of weight 3.

It should further be noted that all of the functional componentsincluding the grip, umbilical and weight can be composed of a single(unitary) composition, such as rubber. Thus a single mold could be usedto construct the present device.

The above disclosure is sufficient to enable one of ordinary skill inthe art to practice the invention, and provides the best mode ofpracticing the invention presently contemplated by the inventor. Whilethere is provided herein a full and complete disclosure of the preferredembodiments of the invention, it is not desired to limit the inventionto the exact construction, dimensions, relationships, or operations asdescribed. Various modifications, alternative constructions, changes andequivalents will readily occur to those skilled in the art and may beemployed as suitable without departing from the true spirit and scope ofthe invention. Such changes might involve alternative materials,components, structural arrangements, sizes, shapes, forms, functions,operational features or the like.

Therefore, the above description and illustration should not beconsidered as limiting the scope of the invention, which is defined bythe appended claims.

1. A tennis skill training device comprising a grip emulating a tennisracket grip sized for being held by a user when employing said devicefor training, said grip having a length, a circumference, a butt end anda distal end, a flexible umbilical having first and second ends, saidfirst end attached to and emanating from said distal end of said gripand a weight attached to said second end of said umbilical, the lengthof said device measured from said butt end of said grip to said weightbeing approximately the length of a tennis racket.
 2. The device ofclaim 1 wherein said grip comprises an expanded cap at said butt end. 3.The device of claim 1 wherein said grip comprises eight flat beveledsurfaces about its circumference.
 4. The device of claim 1 wherein saidgrip comprises a raised marker on its circumference indicating handplacement for proper use of said device.
 5. The device of claim 4wherein said grip comprises two raised markers, one for left handedusers and one for right handed users.
 6. The device of claim 1 whereinsaid umbilical comprises a material that is capable of stretching fromits at test length during use of said device.
 7. The device of claim 6wherein said umbilical comprises a material that is capable ofstretching up to approximately 1 inch in length from its at rest lengthduring use of said device.
 8. The device of claim 1 wherein said weightis approximately 13 to 15 ozs. in mass.
 9. The device of claim 1 whereinsaid umbilical comprises a member selected from the group consisting ofnatural rubber, synthetic rubber and thermoplastic elastomers.
 10. Thedevice of claim 9 wherein said grip, umbilical and weight are composedof the same member and are of a unitary construction.
 11. A method oftraining a user to properly serve a tennis ball to commence a game oftennis, said method comprising providing a device having a gripemulating a tennis racquet grip sized for being held by a user whenemploying said device for training, said grip having a length, acircumference, a butt end and a distal end, a flexible umbilical havingfirst and second ends, said first end attached to and emanating fromsaid distal end of said grip and a weight attached to said second end ofsaid umbilical, the length of said device measured from said butt end ofsaid grip to said weight being approximately the length of a tennisracquet, swinging said weight overhead to emulate the overhead swing ofa tennis racquet and bringing said device downward in a continuous arcof motion while maintaining tautness of said umbilical between said gripand said weight.
 12. The method of claim 11 wherein said grip comprisesa raised marker on its circumference indicating the hand placement forproper use of said device, wherein upon grasping said grip, the thumband index finger of a user are caused to reside against said markerduring use of said device.